We are constantly searching for what the answer is for perfect human health.There are many things that contribute to human health, but one of the most commonly overlooked factors may be right below your feet! Soil! Healthy soil creates healthy plants, which become healthy food to make healthy humans. Poor, nutrient deficient, and lifeless soil contributes to nutrient deficiencies in humans, which is ultimately linked to most modern day diseases! Not convinced? Keep reading! I am not saying to just go around eating soil – even though a little dirt never hurt. But really, we should be eating food grown in living soil, this is the answer to great health. So let’s dive in!

Food Should Contain Nutrients to the Max!

Healthy soil produces healthy plants that provide better nutrition.

Healthy Soil = Healthy plants = Better Nutrition for you and me!

Human diseases of the present day originate from depleted soil. We all need certain minerals from our food to keep us healthy. Most degenerative diseases are caused by mineral deficiencies! And guess what? Due to modern commercial agriculture, soils are being stripped of their minerals!

Now it’s not just minerals that we need. Water, macronutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are also necessary to maintain good health. The macronutrients are where the majority of our energy comes from. We also need vitamins and minerals for our biochemical processes and to maintain optimal health. But instead of popping pills we really should be getting these nutrients from our food. The way it was meant to be!

Research has revealed that there is a critical relationship between minerals and optimal health. There are 18 known essential minerals as well as other trace minerals that are required for excellent health. These minerals interact with each other for many of the body’s metabolic functions. We are not able to manufacture minerals within our own bodies, and therefore deficiencies are commonplace. Nutrition is key to excellent health, and without nutrient dense foods from nutrient dense soils, we are much more susceptible to disease.

Why is this a problem now? Historically, our food was more nutrient dense food because the soil had not been over farmed and there were practices in place that returned nutrients back to the soil in the form of plant and animal wastes, farmers did not have chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. But now, newly introduced farming practices that deplete soil health have been implemented on a massive scale. These practices began with the mechanization of farming that then incorporated the usage of ammonium nitrate fertilizers. Then pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides came into the picture, and now GMOs and glyphosate. It can and has been charted that with each of these new practices, the mineral content of our food dropped and dropped, and dropped, until the pitiful present day levels were reached. And with each practice and the consequential mineral decline, the diseases began to rise – heart conditions, asthma, obesity, and cancer.

Guess how many apples you would have to eat today to get the same amount of iron that one apple contained in 1950. At least 26 (and that is according to the content in an apple from 1998 (1))!

Besides nutritional value, food doesn’t taste as good as it used to either. This is because the minerals have been depleted, and the minerals are what make up the compounds that give fruit and vegetables their flavor.

“When our food lacks minerals, disease becomes inevitable.”

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Consider this; heart disease is associated with the mineral deficiencies of chromium, copper, magnesium, selenium, and potassium. The amount of these minerals found in food has been decreasing since 1930/when degenerative agriculture began, but when all these minerals dropped below 4 mg/100 g of food in 1990, heart conditions began to increase rapidly. The rate of this disease has increased 412.3% (in only the past 30 years!) between 1980 and 2011. (1)

Our multivitamins and mineral supplements should be going to/coming from the soil! Pill poppers rejoice! But, unfortunately the minerals are not being returned at a sustainable rate. It is important to choose the highest quality food available from ecologically minded farmers. Healthy food is a vehicle of nutrients derived from the soil. Don’t overlook the value of sea vegetables, as they are chock full of minerals (where do you think all the minerals from the topsoil ended up) – just make sure they are from the healthiest sources possible. The best companies will have tests done for any harmful contaminants that they make available for your review. Look out for Part 2 where we will jump back into the soil and how to enhance its health for our health!

Resources:

Dr. Mercola

1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/25/food-minerals-soil-health.aspx
2. http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2350/biochar_doubles_plant_growth.html